Brandi enters into the nursery just as I am attempting to wipe my face dry. She smiles brightly at me and at Ambriel. “She has that effect on me too,” Brandi says as she makes her way over to us both. One of her arms drapes over my shoulder as she leans over me to get a good look at her. She refastens the monitor on her foot. “Got to make sure this is on good. I’m so paranoid. I mean, she’s just so little, you know?”

“Yeah,” I say as I slowly and cautiously hand Ambriel to Brandi.

Brandi is a natural; I think most moms are and just don’t realize it. She has the baby asleep almost instantly, and I am kind of jealous at how quickly she was able to do that. I’m still learning. I suppose I’ll get there eventually. Brandi holds a finger to her lips, and I nod. The two of us sneak out of the nursery and back down the hall to our bedroom where she almost immediately picks up the baby monitor to watch Ambriel on the video. “She’s so quiet,” Brandi says. “I swear, I can’t sleep half the time because I’m going in there to check on her.”

I smile at her, but I’m very distracted. I can’t stop thinking about what Vivian said, and it’s really driving me insane. “Mom and Dad seem to think she looks like me,” Brandi says, “but honestly, I see a lot of you in there too. It’s those eyes of hers. They’re definitely yours.”

She says it with utmost confident that it would be nearly impossible to assume it’s a lie. Could she be lying to me right now? And lying so easily? I don’t know what to do. I really don’t. “Yeah?” I question half-heartedly. I glance at the video monitor that Brandi is holding in her hands as we both crawl into bed. Ambriel is undeniably Brandi’s daughter, but does she really have pieces of me in there? I just can’t shake it.

“So how was work?” Brandi asks.

“Not that great, to be honest,” I say. “Crazy ass Vivian showed up causing drama and got herself thrown out.”

“Vivian as in your ex-girlfriend Vivian?” Brandi asks, her face scrunching up as though she had taken a bite out of a lemon.

“Yeah,” I say. “She made a huge scene. Signed up for one of my classes and then grabbed at me. I pushed her off me, and then she pretended to fall over. Alexis drug her out of the building and took a picture of her to post around the gym so that no one will let her inside. It was completely crazy.”

Brandi nudges me in the side. “You sure do know how to pick em, right?” She laughs.

“Yeah, well, the whole thing makes me feel like shit,” I say.

“Look, I knew all about Vivian, and I still married your dumbass,” Brandi said. “You cheated on me. I still married you. And you dumped her when you wanted to get serious with me, right?”

“Yeah. I love you, Brandi. As soon as I realized I wanted to be with you for real, I left Vivian. I wasn’t going to keep stringing both of you around. I wouldn’t do that to you; I’d never lie to you,” I say the last bit in a serious tone, wondering if she caught on. I wouldn’t lie to her. I make a promise to myself now that I won’t. I won’t be the bad guy –not anymore. I’m done with that irresponsible version of myself. No more drinking, no more wild nights, no more random women. The question is –is Brandi willing to be the good girl? I always thought that she was, but after what Vivian said, I can’t be sure. Has she been cheating on me the entire time?

“I love you too, Jonathan,” she says, breaking her stare away from the monitor for a brief period of time to look at me and smile. She clearly did not catch on to my tone. “I’m sorry Vivian harassed you at work today. Honestly, I got to say, if I were you I would leave the gym. I don’t know why you feel like you have to wait around on that marathon. I would just quit now. You’re boxing now –you don’t need that job.”

My tone changes dramatically. It pisses me off –how many times is she going to try to get me to quit? “Damn it, Brandi,” I say, my voice raised, “I told you I’m not just walking out when Alex needs me. She gave me this job when I needed it, so I’m not fucking abandoning her after I started this whole thing. I’ll fucking quit after the marathon, all right?”

She looks at me, snapping her head to the side. Damn it, I made her fucking cry. Fucking hormones and lack of sleep has her all jacked up, and I’m over here yelling at her like a jackass. “I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “I just had a rough day, and I’m taking it out on you. I’m sorry.”

Brandi wipes a few tears away and calms herself down. “Sorry,” she says, “I’m not myself right now. I swear, I cried this morning when the cook scrambled my eggs instead of making them over-easy. What the hell? I’ve never felt so stupid. And the poor guy didn’t know what to do with me. I feel like a moron.”

I laugh. “Well, aren’t you just a spoiled little princess?”

“Shut up. I would never act that way normally, and you know it,” she says and jabs me in the side. “I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted, and Ambriel will probably wake up in just a few hours.”

“Me too,” I say. “Goodnight, Brandi.” I kiss her forehead and lay down beside her. She curls up next to me and lays her head on my chest. I want to roll over and push her away. Fucking Vivian. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s going to be a long night.